1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disposable or reusable ashtray for use in sandy environments such as a beach that will interact with the sandy substrate to extinguish a cigarette and provide for a means to repeatedly offer a fresh extinguishing surface while storing waste until disposal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Smoking is an enjoyable pastime for many individuals, especially at outside recreational areas such as the shores and beaches along oceans, rivers, and bays. As the sandy substrate typically found along these waterfront areas is not combustible and serves as an excellent extinguishing medium, many smokers extinguish their cigarettes directly into the sandy substrate. Unfortunately, it is much too often that individuals do not remove this litter from the shores prior to vacating the area.
Heretofore there have been a few beach ashtrays proposed or commercialized to attempt to encourage smokers along the beaches to use such product to help maintain the cleanliness of the shores and to protect the marine environment and animals from the hazards of the toxic chemicals contained within the discarded cigarette butts.
One such ashtray as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,381 to Rainer, 1997 Jul. 15, incorporates a large radial flange designed to limit the distance the ashtray enters into the substrate and to support and protect the cigarette from contact and contamination with the sand or soil. Thus the filter end of the cigarette rest on the flange that would be at the same level as the surface of the sandy substrate. As the filter end is typically moist from continuous placement in the smokers mouth, and as it is a normal environmental condition to encounter sufficient wind at a beach or shore to blow the sandy substrate along the beach at ground level, the filter could easily become contaminated with sand or grit causing an unpleasant transfer of this sand or grit into the smokers mouth.
Rainer's flange is also designed to add limited stability to the ashtray to prevent the ashtray from tipping over and spilling the extinguished cigarettes into the environment and to provide for a stop means to limit the insertion of the ashtray into the supporting substrate. However, since the floor of the Rainer's ashtray is inserted just below the surface of the substrate, and whereby the center of gravity for Rainer's ashtray is above the surface of the substrate, Rainer's ashtray does not provide substantial stability or means to securely anchor the ashtray into the substrate. Moreover, Rainer does not provide for a lid mechanism to secure waste inside of the receptacle. Additionally, it is very common to encounter loose sandy substrate along a beach and whereby it is normal to encounter continuous human activity at close proximity to where a smoker is sitting or lying, there exist a higher probability that the ashtray would be easily tipped over thereby spilling the toxic cigarette remains and tobacco product into the environment. Rainer's ashtray is also given to easily spilling the waste contents into the environment as the smoker walks to the nearest waste disposal area to empty the ashtray as there is no means to secure the waste inside the ashtray.
Rainer's design will also cause the ashtray to continue to fill with extinguished cigarettes until the receptacle becomes full. This can become unsightly and emit unpleasant stale odors that are offending to others in the near vicinity. Once the extinguishing surface of the ashtray is full of waste, the ashtray has no means to automatically cover stale smelling cigarette butts with sand and provide a fresh extinguishing surface. The smoker would be required to manually fill ashtray with additional sand causing ones hands to become sandy and gritty. If Rainer's ashtray was to be lifted from the substrate surface to allow the sand to exit the receptacle and then reinserted into the substrate, the sand enters the ashtray from the bottom openings and would cause the extinguished cigarettes to remain on the top surface of the sand. Therefore, there is no convenient means provided to cause the cigarette butts to be buried or to provide the smoker a fresh extinguishing surface.
Another type of beach ashtray design is shown in the patent application publication US 2004/0074787 A1, by Donos, 2004 Apr. 22, whereas the ashtray is made of cardboard or similar material that has been scored or printed with fold lines requiring the smoker to fold and construct the ashtray prior to use. It also requires that one or more panels of this construction be glued or otherwise secured to itself thus requiring ample time for the glue to harden prior to use. Therefore, because this ashtray requires construction prior to use, it is not conducive for use in a dispensing unit for purposes of providing a disposable ashtray along a beach or shore access or entry point. Additionally, because this ashtray would be constructed with a cardboard like material and because there is no means provided for the ashtray to easily dig into compact or wet substrate, it would be subject to a very high center of gravity from the surface of the substrate where it is inserted and could be easily tipped over spilling the toxic cigarette remains into the environment while the lid remains in an open position during use of the ashtray.
Yet another type of cardboard postcard sized beach ashtray has been commercialized that also uses scored or printed fold lines and requires the smoker to assemble prior to use. This ashtray is designed for promotional purposes to print advertisements on a postcard size cardboard or similar material and handed out along a beachfront area. This ashtray has no lid or means to secure waste until disposal and is given to be easily tipped over or even simply accidently buried in loose sandy substrate due to its small size. This ashtray can be quickly filled with discarded cigarette butts due to its size limitation. The postcard size ashtray does not provide for a means to automatically cover stale smelling butts with sand or provide a fresh extinguishing surface thus can quickly become unsightly and emit stale odors that are offensive to others in the near vicinity. If the sandy substrate is compact or wet, the ashtray could not dig into the supporting substrate due to being constructed with cardboard like material causing it to be unstable and subject to easily tipping over. Additionally, due to its small size it would be very limited as to the debt the ashtray could be inserted into the substrate. This design provides for a higher probability that the paper-like ashtray could be left on the beach after use and thus further polluting the environment. Furthermore, the overall commercialized appearance of this promotional postcard ashtray lends to the look of creating more unwanted debris on the beach. This ashtray is designed with the specific purpose of being used as a promotional postcard size billboard. It is the manufacturer's desire for the purchaser of the postcards to hand out the material to smokers on the beach for advertising purposes. This could result in the disbursement of unwanted solicitation material to smokers and nonsmokers and further increasing the probability that the ashtray would be discarded or left on beach as trash.
Other versions of a beach ashtray that have been commercialized providing for a basic cone shaped receptacle with a pointed end to be inserted partially into the sandy substrate with an attached lid. This type of design requires the smoker to first partially fill the ashtray with sand causing ones hands to become sandy and gritty. Or a closely related version to this design has a very small opening at the bottom of the cone shaped receptacle with a very limited perforated floor providing for several small openings for sand to enter and exit the receptacle. This design would provide for a very limited amount of sand to enter the ashtray receptacle when pushed into the substrate due to the nominal opening area at the bottom of the ashtray. Also, the ashtray could easily become clogged with cigarette butts and waste when removing the ashtray from the substrate for disposal. Thus the substrate could become trapped in the receptacle upon disposal adding significant unnecessary weight to the waste disposal units and also unwontedly removing sand from the beach area. This design will also cause the ashtray to continue to fill with extinguished cigarettes until the ashtray becomes full. This can become unsightly and emit unpleasant stale odors that are offending to others in the near vicinity and offers no means to provide the smoker with a fresh extinguishing surface. This design does not provide for a means to dig into the substrate if the substrate is compact causing it to be easily tipped over and spilling the waste into the environment. Additionally this design does not provide for a means for a beach attendant to easily retrieve ashtrays that have been left on the shores and have not been discarded or returned as desired.
Most smokers therefore, would desire a light weight durable beach ashtray that could be disposed of after use, or retained for future use, that would easily be inserted into the sandy substrate and not given to easily tipping over or prone to spilling the waste contents until such time as disposal. In addition, it would be desired to have an easy means to store previous extinguished cigarettes while covering the stale smelling waste with substrate and simultaneously providing a smoker with a fresh extinguishing surface to receive additional cigarettes.